


Enter Neku to the Stage

by MilayaMilenZeal



Series: Tokyo Mirage Sessions -FF [1]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Acting Jobs, Actor Neku, Gen, Songwriter Joshua, idol culture, singing career
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22385461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal
Summary: Sakuraba Neku has always been home on the set, then finally behind the microphone with his friend's help, and he intended to continue that for many years, still...But life has other ideas.
Series: Tokyo Mirage Sessions -FF [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611346
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Enter Neku to the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea that just recently came to me. I'm not going to reveal just yet what caused it... instead, why don't you all guess where it came from?
> 
> One hint; it involves a re-release of an old title on the 17th of January 2020.

Neku wasn’t sure when his life became what it was now; it really was just a whirlwind of events that he just couldn't dissect at times. So, as he sat in the back of the studio in the room appointed to him (star and all, thank you very much), sipping from a bottled of chilled water, he found himself quietly reminiscing. 

Some people would credit their parents for raising them as they did, or for always standing by them, but Neku had no such feelings for the people who brought him into this world. His earliest memories of his parents, arguably, were happy ones, even though he no longer remembered their faces. And the memories themselves were vague, at best, since he was only… 3, was it? …Yeah, 3 years old when they just didn't show up again to pick him up from daycare. 

He'd read the police report a few years back – which took a bit to get his hands on – since the daycare workers had called them for a case of abandonment when his parents just didn't show at 8 PM, three hours after they should've been there. Sadly, there wasn't much to say; they just… disappeared. All their belongings were still at the house, their cards hadn't been used since their disappearance, and even their car was found right where they'd left it, untouched and collecting dust. 

Neku, of course, hadn’t heard of any of that, since he'd been only 3, whiny, hungry and upset. Yeah, the report mentioned all of that, including the part where he was (apparently) screaming for his mom. He often criticized that part, as he liked to believe that he was a quiet enough kid as a toddler, going from his uncle's assertions. 

Speaking of… with his parents effectively gone and unable to look after him, the police contacted his uncle, asking him to pick him up and look after him until his parents came back.

Spoiler alert; they never did. 

His uncle was… well, he wasn’t the worst to live with, looking back, and his aunt wasn’t bad, either. Thinking about it as a rational teen (as rational as teens can be, naturally), he'd been really lucky to even have had family who could take care of him, but _you_ try telling that to a 3-year-old who hasn’t not seen his parents for more than a day. So, naturally, he hadn’t been too excited about going to live there. Even less so when his aunt and uncle had their own son (Neku’s cousin) and the other kid they’d been fostering to look after. _You_ try explaining to an only child thrust into that situation that he can’t have all the adults’ attention anymore… 

It was far from a good period in his life, he’ll admit, having been forced to adapt to that new life, and he’d ended up withdrawing into himself for a good few years. Thinking back, it had taken him way too long to get used to his “new life”, but to be fair, he had definitely been in a very bad place, mentally. It wasn’t a time that he liked to think back on, and a lot of things happened in those few short years that he just wanted to forget ever took place. Which wasn’t healthy, he knew, but he just didn’t want to think about those times if he could help it. 

The only good thing about that time was his budding relationship with… god, he was still not sure if he could just straight up call the guy “brother” even in his own head. Sure, they had grown up in the same house, sure, they eventually adopted the same family name, but in the end, they weren’t _actually_ related. …Ah, whatever. His “brother” it is. Anyway, that was really the one good thing that he would fondly recall, at least up until his 7th year… when his brother got scouted. 

Now that was a weird experience (according to his brother, anyway…); just being randomly picked out of a crowd for doing something as simple as buying some groceries for their uncle. In fact, he hadn’t even initially thought anything of it, and merely took the card he’d been offered and said he’d “think about it” with no intention of doing that at all. Hell, he completely forgot about it until their aunt found the crumpled-up card in his pocket while doing the laundry. 

Everything had just, sort of snowballed from there… 

First his brother got involved in the industry, doing small parts here and there, gradually building experience before he was “promoted” to bigger roles. And then he landed the “Big One”; playing the lost crown prince Ryuusei of a little forgotten nation in the (rather niche) TV-series called “Royals of the Cherry Blossom Fields”. Which was ironic, given their family name, but hey. 

What was great about that role, was that it seemed to be constructed entirely around his brother as a person rather than a pre-made script, and his brother had a lot more freedom to just ad-lib the lines he was given if he felt the line wasn’t right for the part he was doing. Didn’t start out that way, but the producers _loved_ his improv lines so much, they worked around them almost continuously. 

It wasn't something a lot of other producers were eager to work with initially… until the once barely known series exploded in popularity. Which was all attributed to his brother’s excellent line delivery and his general air that seemed to draw everyone in. He seriously got so deep into the role that many even wondered if he _was_ the character rather than just playing them. 

Neku was used to it by now, and the rest of the cast adapted quickly to the improv lines, and this, to the absolute delight of the producers and whatever execs were above them _loved_ him just as much. Or at least the ratings he brought with him. 

So, technically, it shouldn't have been so surprising that they would lock on to Neku as well the moment they realized the younger boy was somehow fueling his brother with even more material to work with. 

His role, initially, was a small support role for his brother, but the audience seemed to love him to the point where they wanted more. 

Thus was born Prince Haruto as step-brother to Crown Prince Ryuusei. 

Despite how everything always went well on the set during the shoots, sometimes Neku couldn't help but wonder why anyone would put up with him and his brother for so long. Honestly, there were times that Neku feared they'd never get any scenes done on time before the show aired for its next episode. Which, to be fair, was his fault more often than not when he'd either flub his lines (ones that were actually important, mind you) or he would ad-lib so hard they ended up deviating way too far of course. 

…though he really shouldn't be complaining, as it did land him a musical career aside from his acting. So there was that to fall back on, just in case. 

‘ _…_ _speaking of music…_ ’ 

After sitting up properly and putting his bottle of water away, he picked up his phone and typed out a message after opening Topic. 

**Me:** **Yo**

**Me: still awake or did you pass out?**

There was a long moment of just, well, nothing, before a reply finally came. One that almost had him laughing out loud. 

**J: I was almost sleeping comfortably and then you had to ruin it.** **Meanie.**

Even though he didn't laugh, he did smirk with a chuckle as he typed his response.

 **Me:** **scuse** **me?**

 **Me:** **whos** **the one who demanded** **i** **make sure** **theyre** **up for the first show?**

 **Me:** **whos** **the one going “call me if** **i** **d** **ont** **answer within 5 min"?**

There was no immediate response after that, but he’d expected that, honestly. Finally, though… 

**J: I hate you**

_That_ comment DID succeed in making him burst out laughing, and he let it be known, too. 

**Me:** **lol**

 **Me: yeah** **yeah** **love you too, ass**

 **J:** **Jerk**

 **Me:** **i** **diot**

 **J:** **Buffoon**

 **Me:** **jackass**

 **J:** **Poopyhead**

**Me: wow**

**Me: mature**

**J: Shut up**

Neku smiled fondly at the exchange, as he leaned back. They continued their conversation for a little bit more before the show was set to start. And he couldn’t help but miss his best friend. 

And to think, initially, he couldn’t _stand_ the punk. Funny how that just happened… 

Their first meeting hadn’t been a pleasant one, given that the guy’d tried to get close to him during his darkest moments. He definitely wasn’t proud of that time, but, knowing how things had eventually turned out, he wouldn’t want to change even a second of those days. 

Those days spent arguing about stupid things. You know, the usual argument about “which starter is best?” or hell, even “which _generation_ is best?” Which were still questions they could _not_ agree upon, and that was perfectly fine. 

The lazy summer days spent at the river side, talking, squabbling, playing or, more often than not, just… nothing. Just, laying there, in the grass, by the water… doing absolutely nothing but stare up at the sky, side by side in companionable silence. 

Those moments in his life he wouldn't trade for anything in the world. 

Neku smiled as his thought inevitably went back to his friend and the songs he'd been making for so long already using Utaloid software. Those had always been made for fun and “just to practice", but Neku had caught on to their internet popularity fairly quickly and he'd been telling him for so long to _do_ something with that skill he had. But every time he bothered, the response was always the same; 

“Thanks, but there's no way these songs will ever be enough for the industry.” 

That was always followed by a small chuckle – well, giggle, really – up until that moment that Neku straight up told him; 

“Get your laptop ready and make yourself look presentable! Our producer wants to see you, like, yesterday!” 

The argument they ended up getting into after that meeting was well worth it after seeing the sheer _embarrassment_ and childlike _glee_ on his friend’s face when he was told – face to face – by Neku and his brother’s boss (essentially) that the studio wanted to hire him for all their music and song work for the series. Not that the argument lasted long before the situation really kicked in and his friend had to run off to grab a pillow so that he could scream into without creating a noise disturbance. 

A knock on the door startled Neku out of his conversation with his friend. 

“Neku! The show's gonna start in 10 minutes!” 

“Ah, thanks Miki! Be there in a bit!” 

As she walked away, he quickly typed a message to his friend. 

**Me:** **gotta** **get ready**

**Me: for the 10 min call**

**J:** **Already?**

**Me: dude**

**Me: its nearly** **10** **30**

**Me: show starts at 30**

**J:** **Alright.** **Well, be** **t** **ter get moving then.**

 **Me: yeah** **yeah**

 **Me: ill pass** **ya** **to H when I get there**

 **J:** **Why thank you! Break a proverbial leg, dear!**

**Me: stop calling me that**

Whatever else he had to say, Neku chose to ignore it for the moment. Instead, he grabbed his bottle and downed the remainder of water (he'd be needing that water in him soon enough), before he hurried out of the room and headed for the stage. It would hardly take him ten minutes, so he wasn’t in any way going to be late, but he still had to pass his phone over to the producer to get the backstage live feed going for his friend, since he couldn’t be there himself. 

Everyone backstage was already in full gear, stage makeup included, and Neku greeted everyone with a casual call and sometimes a high-five – or in the case of his brother, a fist bump followed by a quick hug and shared laugh – as he headed for the producer. 

“Hey, Mr. H!” he called out, going over to the man. 

“Hm? Oh, hey, Phones,” the producer said in greeting with a chuckle. “What’s up? Nervous?” 

“Nah,” Neku assured, chuckling. “You know how J’s stuck at home with the flu, right?” 

This made the man sigh, his joyful expression fading a bit. “Yeah… it’s a shame. I know he was really looking forward to being at the first show.” 

“Tell me about it…” Neku mumbled, knowing as no other how upset his friend had been over missing their first on stage live show. Which, by the way, came from all the whining texts sent his way over Topic that are sure as hell going to be denied once he’s feeling better. “Anyway, I know it’s against policy to record and all, but just this once, could you please make an exception for him and stream it to him?” he asked, holding up his phone, quietly praying he hadn’t made the mistake of promising something ahead of time that the producer had no intention of doing. 

And sadly, it looked like he was right as the man frowned. “Phones… I don’t like that tone of yours.” 

He couldn’t help it; he flinched, and offered a weak “Sorry…” as he moved to type something on his phone… but then the producer took his phone just as he unlocked it, leaning forward with a smirk. 

“It’s too loud.” 

Startled, Neku almost didn’t respond to the words, until they clicked in his head and he allowed a smirk of his own. 

“Just once,” the man said, holding up one finger for emphasis, “and he better be here in person for the next show.” 

“Hahah. Yes, sir, of course,” Neku said with a grin now almost breaking his face. 

The preparations after that barely took that long – really, teaching the producer to stream in _landscape_ mode took much longer, and that was supposed to be _basic_ knowledge – and as the lights began to dim, Neku took a deep, steadying breath. He'd never admit that he was nervous. He’d overcome his initial nervousness of being on camera years ago and it wouldn’t do to display any of it this far along. And no, it didn’t matter that this wasn’t the usual where they could just pick and choose the best scenes and everything had to be _perfect_ on the first go lest everyone faces public scrutiny in front of 400+ people in the audience during a musical special. That didn’t matter _at all_. 

And no, no his hands were not shaking, definitely _not_. 

Something bumped his hand then, and he, admittedly, did jump minutely before he glanced over. His brother was looking at him, and he gave him a small smirk, saying nothing as he instead reached down and took hold of his hand, squeezing it. Neku said nothing; he merely looked back, smiled and nodded his head. His brother nodded back and, wordlessly, let go again. 

Also, no, his brother’s hand certainly hadn’t been cold and clammy with nervous sweat. Get real… 

The orchestra began just then, starting the first notes of the show’s opening theme and no, his throat wasn’t clamping shut, of course not. And no, no he didn’t swallow much harder than he really had to as, one by one, everyone moves onto the stage. 

They were last, but certainly not least… and when they stepped out, they certainly stepped out there in style. 

The second he stepped out there, Neku blocked out everything else but the music and the voices of his friends on stage. He blocked out the clapping, the cheering, the hundreds of eyes staring at them all – even though it felt like they were looking at _him_ specifically – in favor of doing what he’d always done; perform the part he was given. 

It was all good… it was nothing new… it was the same as it always was… just, you know, no breaks in between, so use the improv whenever needed. 

The enemy army was approaching fast well before the halfway point, and that would be where the season’s true finale would take place, paving the way for the coming one. Neku knew it by heart, and so did his brother, despite their usual improv skits, and they were both gearing up for it, he could tell from a glance. Mentally, he was already counting down the minutes and watching for the signal… 

… 

…… 

…but… 

He blinked.

He was sure he blinked. _Once_. 

There was a crash, and not a small one. There was no way he could ignore it, especially when there was a loud discord of sound where there was once music, followed by shocked voices asking what was happening. 

…it happened so fast… 

One moment he was standing by Akira's side, where they'd been discussing the events that were believed to occur, and the next he was gone. He didn't even blink then, and yet Akira was gone. He wasn't the only one to go, though; Daisuke had gone from his “guard” position and he didn't see Shin anywhere anymore, while he'd been in his peripheral mere moments ago.

People were shouting, and some were screaming, and then Neku did something he was told to never do; he broke the fourth wall and looked at the crowd. 

All the seats had been sold out, he was sure… but there were huge gaps. Those shouldn't have been there and he knew they shouldn't, yet there they were. It didn't make any logical sense, so was it any wonder that he panicked? 

The orchestra players were all gone now too, but all their instruments were still there. He was sure no one would just up and leave their instrument like that, so why? But maybe more importantly; how? 

“ _Neku!!_ ” 

He had no time to respond, as someone suddenly shoved him, _hard_ , and he stumbled before hitting the stage with a startled/pained grunt. Thankfully, he managed to catch himself on his hands, so he could flip himself around easily to see who had just pushed him. 

His throat closed up… and yet, somehow, he was able to scream.

“ _Brother!!_ ” 

He couldn't explain what he saw, because even in his own head it sounded like a bunch of crazy speak. But he just couldn't deny it… 

…couldn't deny that his brother was being held up off of the ground clawing at the… the _thing_ around his throat that kept him suspended… trying to break free of… of… he's didn't know what it was! Because it… it looked like a wave of darkness… but there were also these triangular pieces of pitch blackness… they were circling his brother and keeping him suspended… 

“…r…run…!” 

The word was choked out, and Neku knew he should heed it… but he couldn’t move… his body was frozen and he couldn’t even utter a sound. 

And then… the darkness engulfed his brother and then… and then… 

…gone… 

…he was gone… 

Was he screaming…? He was pretty sure he was screaming then… but… he couldn’t hear it… because… because it was suddenly so cold as something seemed to claw at his arms and then his chest. He could barely focus as his vision began to blur before his entire world went dark… 

… 

…… 

……… 

Neku wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but his next conscious thought was hearing the sound of sirens as he slowly opened his eyes again. His vision was still blurry, and he couldn’t distinguish voices, but he knew there were people around him, shouting and screaming. 

He tried to understand what happened… tried to tell rationalize what he saw… but he couldn’t… 

So, he fell silent… unable to tell anyone… refusing to speak to the officials on what happened… or even to his best friend… 

After all… who would ever believe him…? 

…but then _he_ showed up… and he asked Neku a simple question… 

“You saw it… didn't you? The darkness taking everyone away…” 

He gave Neku hope… gave him a reason to keep going…gave him a purpose once more… 

…and like that… 5 years passed… 

**Author's Note:**

> The next part of this will be released as a separate fic and will be gathered in a single series. So please keep your eyes open for that.


End file.
